An Associated Press review of data found that Hoboken has thus far received a level of aid from state-run programs that is similar to what other towns were awarded.

Meanwhile, a Hudson County lawyer who filed a lawsuit against Zimmer is raising questions about whether or not she answered truthfully during a July 2013 deposition when she was asked if she kept a diary.

Zimmer is no longer discussing her allegations that the city was shortchanged on Sandy funds because she refused to approve a development the Christie administration wanted, that Hoboken’s aid is being held “hostage” as political leverage or that she feared further retribution in the next round of funding.

In accusing Christie, Zimmer pointed to journal entries she kept in the spring of 2013 where she describes being threatened by Lt. Gov Kim Guadagno and by state Department of Community Affairs director Richard Constable.

In July 2013, Zimmer was questioned by attorney Louis Zayas, who was representing former Hoboken public safety director Angel Alicea in a wrongful termination suit.

Zayas accused Zimmer this weekend of concealing the existence of her diary in that deposition.

Zimmer spokesman Juan Melli said Zayas’ claims were baseless.

“This is coming from the man who filed a lawsuit accusing the mayor of ethnic cleansing,” Melli said, referring to another suit currently being fought by Zayas on behalf of the Hoboken Housing Authority.

But Melli said the fact that Hoboken is about on par with other towns in collecting a modest amount of aid from state-run programs doesn’t mean the city has received what it deserves, given the damage it suffered when Sandy flooded virtually the entire city.

The problem, he said in an interview last week, is that New Jersey hasn’t created Sandy aid programs designed to help places like Hoboken. Most of the communities devastated by Sandy were towns on the Jersey shore.

Zimmer said Guadagno told her an ultimatum was coming directly from Christie. A Christie spokesman called her version of events, “categorically false.” Guadagno also denied the claims.

Hoboken has so far received two state grants from pools of state-controlled money, according to The Associated Press review.

The state awarded $25 million for energy projects to help deal with outages; Hoboken received $142,080, the same amount as 39 other recipients.

The state also provided money to communities hit by the storm to hire experts and come up with long-term recovery plans; Hoboken’s $200,000 grant was the fourth-highest allocation among the 35 local governments in the program.

Melli said the city was told by state government officials last month not to bother applying for a third program offering grants and loans to revitalize business districts because it was already oversubscribed.

To date, New Jersey has received $1.8 billion in emergency aid from the U.S. government, but with federal approval, and is in line to get an additional $1.4 billion in the coming months. Most of the first chunk was earmarked for direct aid to homeowners, landlords and businesses to rebuild.

— JOURNAL STAFF & WIRE

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